Doctoring Traditions: Ayurveda, Small Technologies, and Braided SciencesLike many of the traditional medicines of South Asia, Ayurvedic practice transformed dramatically in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With Doctoring Tradition, Projit Bihari Mukharji offers a close look at that recasting, upending the widely held yet little-examined belief that it was the result of the introduction of Western anatomical knowledge and cadaveric dissection. Rather, Mukharji reveals, what instigated those changes were a number of small technologies that were introduced in the period by Ayurvedic physicians, men who were simultaneously Victorian gentlemen and members of a particular Bengali caste. The introduction of these devices, including thermometers, watches, and microscopes, Mukharji shows, ultimately led to a dramatic reimagining of the body. By the 1930s, there emerged a new Ayurvedic body that was marked as distinct from a biomedical body. Despite the protestations of difference, this new Ayurvedic body was largely compatible with it. The more irreconcilable elements of the old Ayurvedic body were then rendered therapeutically indefensible and impossible to imagine in practice. The new Ayurvedic medicine was the product not of an embrace of Western approaches, but of a creative attempt to develop a viable alternative to the Western tradition by braiding together elements drawn from internally diverse traditions of the West and the East. |
Contents
| 1 | |
The Sociology of Braided Sciences | 35 |
The Pocket Watch and Machinic Physiospiritualism | 77 |
Reticulate Physiospiritualism and the Thermometer | 117 |
Visionaries Demonic Germs and the Microscope | 157 |
Hormonized Humors and Organotherapy | 191 |
From Diagnosis to Pharmacy in a Bottle | 227 |
Other editions - View all
Doctoring Traditions: Ayurveda, Small Technologies, and Braided Sciences Projit Bihari Mukharji No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
actual Advertisement anatomical ancient argued attempts authors Baidya became become Bengal biomedicine body bottles braiding calcutta called caste chakras chapter classical clearly collection colonial connected constituted contemporary context continued contrast cultural described despite developed discussion disease distinctive doshes early emerged entities European fact fever figure force further germs Gupta hand heat Hindu History hormones human ideas identity important included India instance interest Journal knowledge Kobirajes largely late later machine material matter mean medicine mentioned metaphor modern Ayurveda nadipariksha nature nerves nineteenth century notion objects once original pachons particular patient physical physician pitta points political position practice Press published pulse remained Sanskrit seen Sengupta sense simply single social sought specific technologies texts theory therapeutic thermometer tion tradition turn types university Press watch Western writings wrote